


Intergalactic & Interpersonal

by xiexemxer



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Depression, F/F, F/M, False Memories, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Graphic Description, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Multi, Other, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Self-Doubt, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, Solitary Confinement, Space Opera, Stockholm Syndrome, Twisted, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:28:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22866325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiexemxer/pseuds/xiexemxer
Summary: Zim's bugs should have triggered the Control Brains to destroy him at the end of his incubation period.  One line of in-tact code prohibited this behavior; the Control Brains instead placed limitations on the new smeet in order to cap his height and mental stability.  His PAK is specifically encoded to cause him pain whenever he goes outside of what has been deemed allowed, attempting to control Zim, body and mind.After finding out the Almighty Tallest never planned to conquer earth, and that all of his plans were inconsequential to the grand scheme, Zim decides to leave Earth.  For a transition period, he moves bases to the dark side of the moon with Invader Skoodge and GIR in tow.  It has been quite a few Earth years; the Dib is now a freshman in Kollege and Gaz is finishing up High Skool.  A fateful mistake by Invader Skoodge forces all of their lives to collide once again.
Relationships: Dib & GIR (Invader Zim), Dib & Invader Skoodge, Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), GIR & Zim (Invader Zim), Gaz & GIR (Invader Zim), Gaz & Invader Skoodge, Gaz & Zim (Invader Zim), Invader Skoodge & Zim, The Almighty Tallest & Zim
Comments: 17
Kudos: 31





	1. Bugs and Controls

Quadrant 4, Column 687G, Row X5; the symbol on the base of a cylinder changes from low-level radial light to a bright reverse spectrum color; an indication that the creature completed the gestation cycle alerted the control arms to action. Shifting the wall of similar cylinders until reaching the correct quadrant, column, and row space indicated, the control arms swiftly removed the cylinder from it's socket. Such feeble containment units took further resources to reuse than to create, as such the opening of the containment was done via breaking the glass and allowing the creature within to ooze out onto the platform.

The creature, curled over on itself as it's organs first began to work on their own, remained still. It's green outer shell glistening with similarly colored organic nutrients dripping off of it. It now would need to feed on it's own as well.

The control arms circled the small creature. One inserted a tri-needle into the creature's mid-spinal column, pulling out the neural cords which controlled the pre-programmed genetics in the creature's form. The arm stopped. While creating access to the neural cords, the control arm completed an assessment of the creature's initial programming. There were obvious signs of issue here.

While small, the creature was encoded to grow significantly over a short amount of time, based upon this solar system's solar cycle. This meant the small creature should ultimately become a ruler of it's people, one of the highest among the empire. Yet further review showed broken code allowing for a heightened emotional reaction, a trait long ago blocked by the initial coding of the young smeet. Unlike others of this species, the small creature would be able to feel emotions beyond that of the core three: contentment, fear, and disgust.

Surely leaders held the ability to feel further, to have a drive for control and glee when faced with the fear of subordinates or conquests. This was beyond that allowance. This creature had no inhibitions to emotions, and that alone meant it was a danger to the society and the control brains assisting with reproduction. The issues expanded from there, within the creature's code.

By the control arm's account, there were over 400 quadrillion bugs within this unit's code. It would be defective from the core goal of the empire and yet, the control brains could not remove it from the population. Within their own programming, the control brains were not allowed to remove or deselect a potential ruler. Instead, it would need to be repaired.

One control arm held the creature down, bent forward, it's head sagging without tension. The other control arm began the initial remediation steps, attempting to access different layers of the genetic program to assist with repairs. Three alarms went over signaling other units prepared for harvesting. The control arms did not move; the smeet did not move. Another alarm and a new set of control arms appeared from the infrastructure, removing the now damaged arm from the smeet's back.

This unit could not be repaired. It could not be rejected by the control brain. The option left was to place a modified PAK on the unit to attempt controlling the deviations; including a height cap in an attempt to remove this unit from possible leadership within the empire. In an attempt to hinder the emotional overload of this creature, the PAK was enabled with heightened pain receptors and programmed to cause pain upon chemical imbalances within the creature's brain, leading to an out-of-the-norm emotional response in an attempt to curb and control.

This would not be the last time this unit faced heavy programming in order to control it.

It would not be the last time the caps failed either.


	2. Wake Up, Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Invader Skoodge returns to the Moon base with news of Earth.  
> Zim does his best to block his campainion out while questioning what good comes from sharing such pain.

A purplish pink pod landed on a flattened metal platform filling in a meteor pock on the moon. Here there was only the darkness of space and the low lights leading the pod to a safe landing. A centered platform lowers, taking the pod with it into the depths of a subterranean base. When it stopped the pod opened and a stout Irkan rolled out. He unhooked a hover transport unit from the pod and activated the weight-reduction module to allow him to pull it by the cord without tenuous effort. The platform above closed.

"I have returned with supplies!" the ex-Irkan invader chimed once he pulled the transport unit into a dark circular room, walls covered in unlabeled cords all leading to monstrous screens above him. A curved chair, designed for long-term comfort for most Irkans, was left empty. His announcement was left for no antenna.

Frowning, the Irken left the transport unit alone in the room and traveled to another sector of the base. Finally, after passing through three doorways with sensors identifying and changing the environment based on his movement, the Irken heard a fizzing noise ahead.

Hovering over a table using his PAK legs was the only other ex-invader, or invader, in this quadrant of the cosmos. The short green Irken, shorter even than Skoodge himself, was deep in thought over the mechanical puzzle in front of him. He was focused, his magenta eyes narrowed in thought while the welding torch in his hands burned a hot blue. Skoodge did not speak at first, watching and looking for any movement in the Irken before him and finding none. Only the flame showed that this scene was not a picture.

Until the flame went out and the magenta eyes seemed to shift toward Skoodge, taking in the stout being. "You're back," Zim said quietly. If not for the reverberation in this room's design, Skoodge would have heard nothing.

"Yes, I've returned with the supplies! I have also gathered many great snacks for the base," he admitted, again attempting to sound cheerful. Zim grunted and looked down at the puzzle before him. It was a large mess of components surrounding a small robotic body, still as a corpse. Updates to his G.I.R. unit. The small robot was powered down to avoid movement, and likely the constant noise it emanated. Zim wanted silence.

During the silence, when Zim worked and ignored his Irkan company, that was when Skoodge saw it. The tense green skin pulled over the small frame, twitching every few minutes around the base of his antenna. Whenever Zim worked on a particular problem, similar to this puzzle, he saw the twitches worsen. The base of the skull showed the worst of it--right above the spinal cord that connected into the PAK. There the skin would constrict suddenly, appearing to choke the ex-invader involuntarily. Skoodge did not know, nor attempt to claim he understood, what could cause this. Based on Zim's lack of comment, he wondered if the small Irkan thought it was normal.

"I saw them." Zim paused in his work when Skoodge spoke again. He went to put down the blow torch but a ripple of electricity through his arm, pulling at his spine, caused the alien to toss the device onto the floor instead of placing it on the table. He huffed, annoyed, and took a shaky breath.

"Zim does not care," he said bitterly.

"The family unit appears to no longer be in-tact," he went on against Zim's comment. "The Dib has left the family base and ascended to what is called Kollege. The...Dib-Sister," Skoodge hesitated to say her name, "Remains in High Skool, but will be freed within one human year."

Zim's hands shook as he listened to the information. Every update Skoode delivered lead to another jolt from his PAK. Between resource trips, Zim could avoid this reaction, push aside the normal daily pain to get work done--so long as he was slow and precise. But Skoodge refused to let Zim have peace and continued to share the lives of the Membrane-unit. Perhaps Skoodge did not want to keep the pain to himself, but who could Zim then share it with?

"I believe the Dib-human continues to research the paranormal. He also appears to stop by the location of the previous base and has set up a few trackers there to identify any activity. He does not appear to know that we have relocated to the moon base!" Skoodge ended proudly. Zim's fist hit the table and he grits his zipped teeth before giving the Irkan his attention again.

"Eeexcellent work," he hissed while the pain rippled from his encoding cords, "Please complete the replacement of supplies. Zim must finish the upgrades for the plans."

Skoodge frowned at the strain his counterpart showed but nodded. Without another word, and with antenna pushed back against his flat head, Skoodge shuffled from the room. When the door closed behind the alien, Zim let out a haggard breath. His forehead fell to the table, magenta eyes closed, while he waited out the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter of the story.  
> I plan to update this bi-weekly for the time being, but who knows.
> 
> Still actively looking for a beta reader. Let me know if you're interested in the comments.
> 
> See ya, XXX


	3. Regeneration Ooze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skoodge doesn't understand what trouble Zim; Zim doesn't understand that Skoodge isn't in the same feedback loop. As hard as Zim tries to behave and avoid triggers, he doesn't understand what's happening to him and can't comprehend what to do to stop it--if he even should stop it. What is Skoodge to do when the ex-invader begins harming himself in an attempt to feel better?

G.I.R.'s upgrades were incomplete. As with most projects, once reaching a pivotal turning point Zim could no longer focus on the task at hand in one sitting. He had to stop and wait until he could think; until he could remember what he was working on in the first place. 

Until the spasming of muscles against bone stilled.

Since his initial banishment, this is the life Zim lived. A life before that left forgotten. Any thoughts beyond responding to orders, being a basic drone, caused crippling pain. The Almighty Tallest did not choose to reverse the punishment upon giving him this mission. Zim thought, for the longest time, that perhaps it was because he remained strong enough to overcome it and the Tallest knew this. Then, on occasion, Zim would question if this ever wasn't his existence. Could there have been a time before this pain and torment, or was that a fleeting dream for a sleepless Irken?

Perhaps the pain was normal for him, and for the other invaders. The other Irkens. He never asked; his PAK would not allow it. Thinking about it now, after all that happened before he left earth, caused the pain to spike. For days--earth days-- at a time he would be stuck in a regeneration pod. This was not by Zim's choice but by the force of Skoodge attempting to stop the ex-invader from damaging himself or his PAK to avoid the pain. The worst of it came when the group initially left Earth’s surface. His thoughts, he couldn’t remember them now, must have been un-Irken of him. This happened less frequently recently.

Before the latest episode of spasms, Zim turned G.I.R. back on and left the upgrades abandoned on the cold metal table. It was not long after that when Skoodge found Zim curled into himself on the floor, his gloved digits pressing into green skin and attempting to rip through at the base of the skull. By now Skoodge was good at forcing the other Irken into the regeneration pods, filling it with the green ooze like the gestation fluid of the control brains. It took time, but eventually Zim would calm. Eventually, his claw marks on the inside of the tube would have to be repaired before it ruptured but neither spoke of it out loud.

This left Skoodge with G.I.R. and the rambunctious robot would often whine and run into the pod a few times, asking about his master, before Skoodge offered to take the robot down to the planet's surface to watch it's favorite show.

"Evil MONKEY?!" it cried; teal eyes glowing. Skoodge nodded.

"Yes! I need to get a few more batteries, and—" he didn't need to mention Zim. G.I.R. was distracted and that was enough.

"Yeeeeeeeee!" the robot cried, running through the expansive base before hopping into the small pod used by Skoodge for resource missions. Skoodge was not as quick. He took some time to prepare the hover transport unit before bringing it back to the pod. He connected the empty addition and then hopped into the pod. They were off, through the cloaked cover of the base and out among the stars.

Skoodge looked down at the base, watching the platform close beneath them, and he worried.

The metal was ingenious. From a distance it blended in with the dark surface below and would not have alerted any creature not looking for it. When Zim designed it, Skoodge was shocked. Certainly, he remembered a time when Zim was a dangerous and accomplished scientist--he had, after all, ended two Almighty Tallest before the current regime—and how Zim mastered the challenges set by the Almighty Tallests to determine invader ranking, but somehow the memories were gone until he saw Zim’s mind in action. Working, properly, for what seemed like the first time in a hundred years.

Of course, if their technology couldn't have made the base from Zim's designs, if the Irken needed to act on his own, the base still would not be complete. After designing it, Zim was in turmoil. Skoodge needed to force him into a regeneration pod for three human weeks after that. The thought made the stout Irken frown, but he did not feel pain. He only questioned what defect Zim must have obtained to end up abandoned by the Empire with only momentary laps into his former glory.

\-------------

On earth Skoodge grabbed G.I.R. before the robot could run off. "Hang on, we need disguises!" he hisses. G.I.R. looks at him and blinks, his metal head tilting to the side.

"OOOOh!" he sounds before pulling out his dog costume and beginning to pull it on. Skoodge shook his head and opened a panel on the pod to select a better disguise for them both.

"No, stupid robot, we can't use that. Your old disguise could be noticed!" Skoodge selected the form of a mid-twenties human male, which the pod soon designed and, encompassing him in a shell, began to build around him. The disguise was perfectly suited for today's task, just below average height with thin brown hair and sunglasses. His shirt, pink with poka-dots, remained unbuttoned at the top and lead to black jeans.

Once released by the pod, Skoodge saw G.I.R. in his old green dog suit and frowned. "Come on...," he whined. The green dog smiled up at him and started waving his black arms.

"Time for CupCAKES!" he cried before hopping off a log and starting to walk away on all fours. Skoodge gave up and grabbed the leash attached to the robot's costume. So long as those two humans were avoided, no one should question the dog's appearance. A planet populated by fools may be a safe place for a dim-wired robot to roam. Skoodge cloaked the pod, making it appear as an over-sized bush in the forest where they landed, and the pair walked out toward the human settlement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to FlappyCat03 for beta reading :D
> 
> These first few chapters set up the world we'll be exploring.  
> If you have any questions, please ask in the comments and perhaps an answer will appear in a future chapter!
> 
> See ya, XXX


	4. Scary Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skoodge makes a mistake but doesn't think G.I.R. could ruin everything after all these years.  
> A new GameSlavel has been released; what's the best color: black or purple?
> 
> SUGAR!

Skoodge misjudged his landing. Once the pair exited the forest, he identified a locale Kollege as the closest major human structure in the vicinity. Struggling to keep a hold on the humming green dog, Skoodge checked with his PAK and identified that this was, in fact, the home of one Dib-human. Not the individual to run into while G.I.R. refused to be properly cloaked. To avoid confirming his suspicions, Skoodge originally took G.I.R. down a path far out of bounds of the Kollege.

If this were a true resource retrieval mission, this issue would be enough of a reason to move the ship to a better landing position, or another human settlement altogether. Avoiding the Membrane-Unit continued to be a requirement of Zim’s, though Skoodge was certain the ex-invader wanted general updates and so continued to monitor. In any case, this was an easy mission to survive; keep G.I.R. from interrupting Zim's healing and retrieve further sugar supplies. Some extra batteries were always useful as well, however, the best resource of this insignificant planet was the sugar. Any local store with a television would work to distract the defective S.I.R..

G.I.R. did not know this area but in a moment of clarity, perhaps enhanced by the half-done upgrades by Zim, he was able to utilize his superior geographic abilities to identify the coordinates to a local superstore full of snacks and, most importantly, televisions! Walking on all fours and squeaking here and there, G.I.R. leads the way to said store, basically dragging Skoodge behind him when the Irken finally allowed him to move.

Inside Skoodge jogged lightly, his breath heavy, trying to keep up with the robot on the way to the televisions. One, a large one at that, of the televisions, had the Evil Monkey show on in all its demented glory. Skoodge knew there would be no moving the robot at this point.   
“Do not damage anything,” the ex-invader demanded of the robot. He paused, watching G.I.R. stay still and silent as if hypnotized by the screen, before leaving the robot alone. This store was not familiar to Skoodge, and so it took him a few minutes to identify which aisles contained the items he required.

\-----------------  
The episode ended a while later and G.I.R. whined. A different show came on, but his attention was no longer focused. That’s when it happened. Near G.I.R., in the video games section of the store, was an average-height young woman with violent violet hair and a skull pendant dangling from a slender neck. In her hand were two boxes, different versions of a new hand-held being released. One was black, one was purple. This was ridiculous--how was she supposed to pick one if everything about both was generally perfect?

"AUGH!" she shouted, tossing the boxes to the ground. Empty as they were, the boxes barely made a noise. The sound alerted the malfunctioning S.I.R. unit, peeking the costume's ears and finally taking the robot's attention away from the television.

"Scary lady?" he asks, rolling forward and onto his legs before walking around the display case to see her. Instantly he screeches and lunges at her, grabbing her leg. "It is; its scary lady! Hiiiiiya!"

Gaz froze, her body going ridged from the sudden physical interaction, and her narrow eyes opening wide to glare down at the foolish creature daring to touch her. She breathed for a moment, eyes looking past the green blob clinging to her leg, while she shook. **1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10**. She stopped with a final deep breath and now she could see it; the green dog in front of her which could only belong to a single creature that she knew of.

"G.I.R...." she murmured before kicking the dog off. "What the hell are you doing here? What, your stupid master trying to take over the planet again?" she hissed. G.I.R. rolled back from her kick and sat down a few feet away from Gaz, giggling.

"Hiiii, I MISSED YOU!" he screeches. Gaz growled. The robot either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Where is your--" she started before a man turned down the aisle and froze. Turned was wrong. The man nearly slid into the aisle, knocking over a case full of toys attempting to capitalize on a recent fad. The small pouches rolled across the floor as the man straightened himself and cleared his throat. 

"Uh, excuse me...miss," he started, thinking over each word carefully. "I see you've found my dog. Thank you, I hope he wasn't bothering you...he ran off his leash when we got in--"

"The leash is still on him," Gaz interrupted with narrowed eyes directed at the man. This was the best disguise she ever saw Zim wear--and it had to be Zim, right? Who else would be walking around with G.I.R.? The human appeared to be sweating. Could Zim sweat?

"Ah-ha, I meant _I_ dropped the leash. Anyway, thank you," he said, attempting to scoot past her without physically touching the human girl. Gaz slammed her hand into the glass of the display case, blocking his path. The glass shuddered but did not break. The man nearly dropped a sack of sugar nested in his arm like a baby.

"What the hell are you doing here, Zim?" she hissed under her breath, one eye open and glaring at the taller male. Skoodge hiccupped and took a step back from her display of aggression. He quickly righted himself, fixing his poka-dot shirt.

"I do not know what you're talking about. Please get out of my way."

"I'm not an idiot, no one else would have G.I.R., right idiot?" she asked over her shoulder to confirm--the costume was good. She couldn't be wrong, could she?

"Whaaaat, scary lady?" the robot asked, causing Skoodge to murmur something under his breath. Gaz smirked.

"This is your master, isn't it, G.I.R.?"

"Nu-uuuuh, master is in the sick place--"

"Shut up, you imbecile!" Skoodge hissed, mostly because this proved him to be the fool. Had they relocated the landing this could have been avoided. He didn't pay attention to the human now, pushing past her and ignoring the growl that emanated behind him. One of the bags swinging from his arms hit her side, and she fought the urge to rip them from him. "Come, G.I.R., I have bought the nutrients, you have watched your show, we are leaving the store."

Gaz wanted to hit him, whoever he was, but she stopped. She watched the man and the green dog run off, against the robot's wishes, and fought the urge to follow. It didn't take much effort. Glancing down at her watch, she realized it was time to meet Dib. Instead of following the strange pair out of the store, she reached down and picked up one of the discarded boxes. She left the scattered toys and trembling glass to remain a mess for the next patron or employee to find. Without looking at which new GameSlave she picked, Gaz walked over to the register and paid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to FlappyCat03 for beta reading :D
> 
> The humans are appearing again! Let's see what's changed after all these years.  
> Look forward to a sub-story coming out soon which takes place from Zim's point of view while Skoodge is away on one of his trips.
> 
> Seeya, XXX


End file.
